Laurel

Perfectly at home along the shore in the Carolinas, the Laurel is built using native materials and designed to let the ocean breeze in.  Deep covered decks and a screened in porch allow for easy transitions between indoor and outdoor living.  The open main level floor plan centers on common living spaces, while still leaving room for a luxurious master bedroom.  The upstairs loft offers two individual bed and bath suites, making ample space for guests and visitors.

Project Team
Architect & Interior Architect: Visbeen Architects
Builder & Interior Design: Custom Classics
Designer: Low Tide Design

Job Opportunity: Office Manager

We're hiring!  We have a job opening for a full-time Office Manager and are looking for an enthusiastic, self-starter interested in joining the team of an award-winning boutique architecture firm.  The responsibilities of this position will include:
• Front office reception
• Answer phone/direct calls
• General office supply maintenance
• Create/Maintain project and other files
• Scanning, title-blocking design sketches
• Managing Materials Library
• Maintain computer backup and filing standards
• Maintain/use corporate address book
• Distribute mail
• In-office portfolio management
• Facilitate in-house meetings
• Corporate parties, luncheons, gifts, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.
• Corporate/client gifts

Interested?  Please forward a cover letter and resume to Angela Mulder in our office - angela@visbeen.biz.

Grand Rapids Design Home 2013 Gala

If you have been following our other social media outlets, you may have seen a few photos we shared from the 2013 Grand Rapids Design Home Gala.  It was a beautiful evening filled with delicious food, good company, and a picturesque setting, not to mention the proceeds benefitting a worthy cause.  And to beat the band (figuratively speaking, of course), we had mood music provided by the talented Brian Vander Ark, setting the tone for an evening of relaxation in the context of the Heartsworth, a Craftsman-inspired design with a gracious floor plan, transitional decor and modern amenities.

A special thanks to Grand Rapids Magazine for including Visbeen Architects in the Design Home for a sixth time.  Thanks to Infiniti Custom Homes and the many partners involved in bringing this design to life, with pizazz.  What a spectacular final product!  

Want to see the entire home in all it's glory?  A dazzling pictorial spread taking us on a tour of the finished Heartsworth will be featured in an upcoming issue of Grand Rapids Magazine, so stay tuned!  For now?  A few fun photos from the party...

A serene setting

A beautiful paisley print detail in the recessed ceiling over the kitchen island, done by Diane Hasso of Faux-Real, LLC decorative painting

Master suite details

Brian Vander Ark providing some tunes

Party-goers taking advantage of the expansive patio off of the dining room

Food and drinks provided by Applause Catering

Our MC for the evening, Randy Prichard of Gemini Publications, announcing winners of the silent auction items, benefitting Bethany Christian Services

A couple lovely ladies enjoying the festivities

A fun little detail in the lower level - a half court gym.

An exquisite sunset closed out this successful event

Abbeyvale

The elegant five-bedroom, four-bath Abbeydale boasts the best of British Tudor design as well as a floor plan tailored to modern living.  The main level features an open plan living and dining area adjacent to the family-friendly kitchen, packed full of custom accents and rustic touches.  A first-floor master suite offers both privacy and convenience.  Three additional bedrooms on the upper level as well as another guest bedroom and family room in the lower level make this home a haven for larger families and guests and offer both convenience and comfort.

This home was built by White Birch Builders.

Architectural Tutorial: Cupola

Is it pronounced "queue-pola" or "coo-pola" or "cup-ola?"  To-may-toh, to-mah-toh.  Either way, what is it?

Officially defined by good 'ole Merriam-Webster, a cupola is simply "a small structure built on top of a roof."  The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture defines a cupola as "a dome, especially a small dome on a circular or polygonal base crowning a roof or turret."  However, these days, people have used the term "cupola" to define structures that aren't necessarily dome shaped.  

Here are a few examples of Visbeen-designed homes with cupola's perched atop their roof...

There is another type of roof-type structure that has often been grouped under the term cupola but is actually a little different.  A monitor is a raised structure running along the ridge of a double-pitched roof, with it's own roof running parallel with the main roof.  The long sides of monitors usually contain windows.  It has been said that these structures were named monitors because they were often used on the rooflines of larger estates, especially lake or oceanfront residences, so that someone could monitor what was going on around the home from an aerial location. (I'm hearing "The British are coming! The British are coming!" in my mind right now.  Maybe Paul Revere wouldn't have needed the midnight ride if he had a nice monitor to sit in.  Just a thought.)

So, "queue-pola" or "coo-pola?"  Either way, they add a bit of architectural interest and a lot of whimsy to the roofline of a variety of home styles.

Professional Builder Magazine just put out their list of 101 Best New Products in the housing industry.  For the last year, Professional Builder has featured these newly introduced products on the pages of it's publication and the readers have spoken.  The list contains products in the following categories: Windows & Doors, Exterior Products, Interior Products, Outdoor Living, Structural/Insulation/Housewrap, Mechanical/Electrical and Construction Tools & Equipment.  There are definitely some cool new goods out there these days!

Professional Builder's 101 Best New Products

By Professional Builder Staff

August 22, 2013

Among the hundreds of building products introduced by manufacturers during the past 12 months and featured on the pages of Professional Builder, the readers, through responses and inquiries, selected these standouts as the 101 Best New Products for this year’s annual review. Products that could impact your business are grouped in the following categories for your convenience:

Windows and Doors

Exterior Products

Interior Products

Outdoor Living

Structural/Insulation/Housewrap

Mechanical/Electrical

Construction Tools and Equipment

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Michigan Blue Magazine: Great Lake Story, Ch 4 and Cover Feature

Although for us Michiganders, summer really just arrived over the last couple weeks, the calendar shows that we are on the cusp of a changing season.  September is just around the corner and the Fall issue of Michigan Blue Magazine has arrived!  This beautiful issue is brimming with dazzling autumn stories we had the pleasure of being a part of...

Great Lake Story, Chapter 4: Stunning sunsets, the sound of waves and kids on the beach, the feel of wind on the shoreline walks -- its easy to see quality of the life on Lake Michigan.  But quality of craftsmanship, like these glacier-made waters, goes deep beyond the surface of what's seen.  Designed by Visbeen Architects and built by Mike Schaap Builders, the story of the Emmett continues.

Crafting Home (Cover Feature): Last fall along the fringes of northeast Kent County's crystalline Silver Lake, a modern-minded couple replaced an outdated tear-down with a new year-round home that blends practical ingenuity and unhindered views with a new take on contemporary style.  This beautiful home from our design portfolio was awarded the AIBD's Global Choice Award as part of the American Residential Design Awards last month.

Intrigued? Check out these articles here...

For ease of reading, click here to view the full articles on our website.